Rep. Diane Black (R-Gallatin) says she preferred not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good, and voted for a $1.1 trillion spending bill to fund the government for the next two years. Credit: TN Photo Services

Congresswoman Diane Black was the Nashville area’s only representative to vote for the $1.1 trillion spending bill that passed the House Thursday night.

Tennessee's multi-million dollar corporate subsidies don't get quite the same public scrutiny that the state budget is getting this week in live-streamed hearings with Governor Bill Haslam. So in an interview with WPLN, we press Haslam to justify his recent spending on economic development incentives, especially since he’s been asking for much of state government to do more with less.

House Speaker Beth Harwell is being challenged by the conservative wing of the legislature for being too close to Governor Bill Haslam, pictured together here at an education summit. Credit: TN Photo Services

The conservative wing of the Tennessee legislature has accused House leadership of being too cozy with the governor’s office. Bill Haslam is defending his ties, suggesting coziness is preferred over conflict.

Governor Bill Haslam said this week that raising Tennessee’s minimum wage would be a non-starter in the legislature. But the U.S. Secretary of Labor believes a majority of Tennesseans would welcome such a pay hike.

Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville is a teacher by trade and led some of the resistance to Gov. Bill Haslam's reforms and became a lead spokesperson for the Tennessee Education Association. Credit: Gloria Johnson via Facebook

Republicans picked up a few more seats in the state legislature. Knoxville teacher and Democratic state Rep. Gloria Johnson fell to challenger Eddie Smith, who got big help from the state’s Republican Party.

After months of campaigning and millions of dollars spent, voters will decide Tuesday whether or not the Tennessee Legislature should have more ability to regulate abortion. Credit: Blake Farmer / WPLN

The number of statistics, court cases and changes in law regarding abortion in Tennessee can be overwhelming for voters going to the polls tomorrow. To help you navigate the slew of information, we did a little work for you.

Voters wait in line to cast a ballot early in La Vergne. While there was a surge on the final day of early voting, totals are still well behind 2010 and even further behind 2006. Credit: Blake Farmer / WPLN

More than 13,000 people voted in Davidson County on the final day of early voting — even though only a few hundred a day were showing up during the first few days.

A constitutional Amendment can only pass if it has 50-percent-plus-one of the total number of the voted tallied in the governor's race. Credit: Vox Efx via Flickr

Advocates of defeating any of the four constitutional amendments on the November ballot are pushing Tennesseans to also cast a vote for governor – any candidate will do. The motivation springs from a state law linking the fate of the amendments to the total votes for governor.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee) is running for a third term, pictured here at a recent announcement regarding expansion of Volkswagen's Tennessee plant. While he has campaigned in the state, he's almost entirely ignored his competition. Credit: TN Photo Services

Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander worked the words “regulating mud puddles” into nearly every answer at a candidate forum hosted by the Farm Bureau. He’s referring to new rules under the Clean Water Act governing navigable waterways. Mud puddles have become one of his most-used jabs at the White House during his reelection campaign.